You knew it was coming sooner or later. Microsoft's Laptop Hunters commercials have hit a sore spot with Apple after attempting to expose the MacBook as an overpriced, underpowered (but pretty) platform, so it was only a matter of time before Apple fired back.

Starring Justin Long and John Hodgman (who else?), the latter stands in front of a long line of suited PCs. Two by two, a handful of of PCs are disqualified as an actress lists what's she's looking for (big screen, fast processor), until she lobs and oft-used Apple bomb.

"I just need something that works without crashing or viruses or a ton of headaches," the actress demands.

Disgusted, Hodgman and the remaining PCs march off-screen, leaving Justin Long (Mac) as the remaining option. You can check it out here, then hit the jump and post tell us what you think.

Oh snap, it's on like Donkey Kong, or at least like an intense level of Galaga. More specifically, Microsoft continues its advertising offensive against Apple with yet another commercial pointing out the cost of being hip, only this one targets iTunes and not MacBooks.

In the latest ad, financial planner (certified, of course) Wes Moss points out it would take $30,000 to fill the latest iPod using iTunes at a buck a pop.

"I don't know about you, but I don't have thirty grand laying around for music," Moss says.

His solution? A subscription service like Zune Pass, of course! "One costs a lot, and one costs a little," Moss adds, referring to the iPod with $30,000 worth of music and Zune Pass's unlimited subscription plan for $14.99/month. For those of you doing the math at home, $30,000 buys almost 167 years of Zune Pass.

There are obvious flaws in Microsoft's latest pitch, but the goal here isn't necessarily to discredit Apple's iPod/iTunes combination as a viable music platform (too late for that) as much as it is to promote Zune Pass. The question is, will it work?

The May 5th launch date for the Windows 7 RC has come and gone, and amazingly, it went off without a hitch. The download servers held up, product keys have been free flowing, and Microsoft is once again proving to the world that they have what it takes to be the number one OS. To veteran Maximum PC readers, downloading and installing the new Windows 7 RC is a piece of cake, and they have probably been up and running for days. For newcomers however, the process can be a bit overwhelming. In the following guide, we will review the steps from start to finish on how to get the Windows 7 Release Candidate up and running in less than an hour. The entire process is free, and the only risk involved is your time, and the possibility of developing an unnatural love affair with an operating system that you’re wife probably won’t understand.

Hit the jump to learn how to setup a dual boot with your old OS, upgrade from Vista, or even just make a plain old clean install.

In the past, Microsoft has been against the use of open-source software, but it appears that trend is going to change with the introduction of their new search platform, Kumo.

Reportedly, the team in charge of Kumo (previously Powerset) “tries to use open-source software, if it is available.” And, on top of that, they’ve made it a point to avoid proprietary software. It would seem that Microsoft’s anti-open-source ways have been left in the dust (for the time being). While Microsoft is notably nervous about licensing their software using an open-source license, they are enthusiastic about consuming open-source software and integrating it into their proprietary products.

So, for the time being Microsoft has lowered their defenses when it comes to the possibility of open-source software. Though, given their track record, it isn’t likely that this trend will continue.

One of the best-kept secrets about Windows 7, its support for a Virtual Windows XP mode, has become a potential headache for a lot of computer users who want to keep running fussy legacy apps under Windows 7. To maintain high system performance, Virtual Windows XP Mode requires the processor to support hardware virtualization (and the system BIOS must enable the feature).

As ZDNet's Ed Bott reports, trying to figure out which Intel processors have hardware virtualization (known in IntelLand as VT support) requires a lot of time with the Intel Hardware Spec Finder. Ed spent the time, so you don't have to wonder about Intel desktop or mobile CPUs (but check the update on page 1 for news about some CPUs that are getting updated to add VT support).

What about AMD CPUs? That's a bit easier to figure out, thanks to a statement from an AMD spokesperson quoted by Cnet:

All CPUs AMD is currently shipping, except Sempron, include AMD-V and therefore support XP mode.With the exceptions of Sempron-branded processors and Turion K8 Rev E processors, all notebook processors shipped by AMD include AMD-V and therefore support Windows 7 XP mode. With the exceptions of Sempron-branded processors and pre-Rev F Athlon branded processors, all of the desktop processors shipped by AMD include AMD-V and therefore support Windows 7 in XP mode. Also, all AMD Opteron processors shipped by AMD from Rev F forward include AMD-V.

Want an even easier way to get the virtualization scoop on your systems? PCWorld recommends the SecureAble test page at the Gibson Research Corporation website. Run SecurAble to determine if your processor supports hardware virtualization, hardware data execution protection (DEP) and to learn if it's a 32-bit or 64-bit CPU. Give SecurAble a try and let us know if you found any surprises about your system.

Microsoft's latest Windows version, Windows 7, has already proven to be too popular for the Internet's own good. Back in January, Microsoft planned to offer the Windows 7 beta to only 2.5 million lucky downloaders over a two-week period, but that didn't last long. As servers crashed under the weight of digital "gold rush" fever, Redmond extended the date to February 10th while lifting the download cap.

This time, with early demand for Windows 7 RC from TechNet and MSDN members crashing servers at the end of April, Microsoft is telling the public to relax:

You don't need to rush to get the RC. The RC will be available at least through July 2009 and we're not limiting the number of product keys, so you have plenty of time.

Wondering how to get more product keys the easy way? Having problems restoring a file backup you made with Windows 7 Beta to Windows 7 RC? Join us after the jump.

Casting somewhat of a somber cloud over the official availability of Windows 7 RC to the general public today, at the same time, Microsoft has laid off 3,000 people. This marks the second round of job cuts as part of the 5,000 planned pink slips the software maker announced back in January, and that number could increase before it's all over.

"As we move forward, we will continue to closely monitor the impact of the economic downturn on the company and if necessary, take further actions on our cost structure including additional job eliminations," Chief Executive Steve Ballmer wrote in an email to all Microsoft employees this morning.

It's unclear how many of those cuts will be made locally, however half of the layoffs will take place in the US and the other half internationally, The Seattle Times reports.

Should you be worried about the July 1, 2010 "drop dead" date for the Windows 7 RC released today? Not according to Acer. In an interview with Pocket-Lint's Chris Hall, Bobby Watkins, Acer UK's Marketing Director, says that October 23, 2009 will be the day that Windows 7 will be available.

Believable? One comment from a US-based reader points out that October 23

...comes at the end of the major U.S. back-to-school selling season and could postpone buying by thousands of people in order to get into the 30-day free upgrade cycle [Acer says that purchases 30 days or less before the Windows 7 release qualify for a free upgrade]. The Microsoft OEM's will absolutely hate this date because it will cost them money.

On the other hand, the date falls comfortably before the holiday season (Microsoft missed the 2006 holiday season with Windows Vista).

For your chance to sound off about how close Windows 7 RC is to being ready to roll, join us after the jump.

Today is Tuesday, May 5th, and that means you can now officially download Windows 7 Release Candidate (RC). Microsoft had previously made the RC available to Technet and MSDN subscribers, and it didn't take long for the newest release to find its way onto Torrent sites.

Microsoft says the RC will expire on June 1, 2010, and starting on March 1, 2010, your PC will begin shutting down every two hours. You'll be given a two-week reminder ahead of time.

The RC that's being made available is a full-featured edition, similar to Windows Vista Ultimate, Microsoft says. Those of you running the Windows 7 Beta can continue to do so until August 1, 2009, at which time you'll need to a clean install of the RC - an upgrade option is not available.

Windows 7 RC will be available at least through July 2009, and while that means there's no rush to go grab your copy right now, there have been no reports of a 'Server is too busy' error message like there were with the Beta release.

Everyone seems excited about the upcoming launch of Windows 7, and with good reason. By many accounts -- speed being the primary one -- Windows 7 is what Vista should have been all along. So where, then, does that leave Vista once Windows 7 starts shipping?

"We are still not sure if [computer makers] will be able to ship Vista once Windows 7 is made available," said Richard Francis, general manager and Windows client business group lead at Microsoft Asia-Pacific. "Having said that, an enterprise customer that purchases a PC with Windows 7 pre-installed is allowed to downgrade to Vista should they desire, similar to what we have today on Vista to XP."

Francis went on to reiterate that Microsoft will stop support forVista in April 2012. And it's probably a safe bet that Vista won't see anywhere near the same user outcry that XP saw, which helped the OS avoid a stay of execution more than once. After stumbling out of the gates with performance hampering bugs, most are looking forward to moving on.

"It's been a long time since we've had a version of Windows that will actually run better [than a previous version] on the hardware that most customers have," Mike Nash, corporate vice president of the Windows product management group at Microsoft, told reporters during a conference call.

Windows 7 recently went into Release Candidate (RC) form and will be available to the general public for download tomorrow, May 5th.